On Oct. 13, I sat in the press conference room at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., and listened to UConn Huskies men's basketball coach Dan Hurley speak optimistically about his team's defense heading into the 2026-27 season.
He said he liked the upside for his team's defense, and he called Silas Demary Jr. perhaps the most ball-hawking guard in the entire country.
So far, his assessment of his team's defense has played out exactly as he thought. UConn went 3-0 in a challenging preseason, beating Syracuse, Michigan State and Purdue, the latter of which the Huskies rolled by 23 points.
And while the margins of victory and points allowed tell part of the story, this stat should blow your mind and have you very excited for the upcoming campaign.
Opponent three-point percentage
As noted by UConn Sports Nation on social media, the Huskies allowed these three opponents to shoot a combined 9-of-64 from beyond-the-arc. That is just 14 percent in total.
Purdue was 2-of-25. Syracuse was 4-of-19. Michigan State was 3-of-20. That's just suffocating defense from Hurley's group.
No where for opponents to turn
While he's not always consistent (yet), transfer center Na'jai Hines has a chance to be a truly elite shot blocker. If he is, then opponents will have a difficult time getting into the post or the lane. As a result, they'll likely turn to the perimeter. But guess what? There don't appear to be answers there either.
And if you can't score inside or outside, what are your options as an opponent? Hope that UConn misses on offense and you can win a 51-49 game, or hope that you can get UConn in foul trouble and take advantage at the line?
Both of those are hard ways to live, which makes things very advantageous for the Huskies, who are trying to get to the national title game for the fourth time in five years.
Up next
The Huskies will begin the regular season on Monday night against Gardner-Webb. It's a soft opening for Hurley's team, who are playing one of the most difficult non-conference schedules we've ever seen this year.
They'll play the likes of Duke, Arizona, Illinois, Michigan, Kansas, Ohio State and Virginia – all before Big East play.
The opener against Gardner-Webb is set for 9 p.m. ET and will be played at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford. The game will also air nationally on Peacock and NBC Sports Network.